Footwear having removable straps can be advantageous as they allow the wearer to have more fashion options when dressing. For example, a wearer can select different colors or styles of straps to match different outfits they are wearing, without having to buy entirely new footwear.
Prior attempts to design reversible footwear have disadvantages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,684 to Lin discloses a detachable strap on footwear, but the means for connecting the strap to the footwear is readily visible to the user and others. This configuration is highly undesirable to fashion conscious consumers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,866 to Laufbahn, discloses footwear having detachable components, where the fastener means are hidden from the user. According to this patent, the fastener means can include a flange located at the end of a thong strap that is received into the wide portion of a key-hole shaped aperture in the sole of the thong and then moved forward to the narrow end of the keyhole, thus preventing detachment by direct upward movement. See FIG. 6, and col. 4 lines 6-19. However, the straps described in this patent are not entirely secure. For example, if the strap was inadvertently slid backwards, the strap could easily become disengaged from the sole of the footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,330 to Kao also discloses footwear having a removable strap where the means for connecting the strap to the sole are hidden. However, the attachment means for this design are complicated such that they would require a significant amount of time to change straps. Furthermore, the attachment means have many parts (e.g., loose pins and button members) that could easily be lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,199 to Giannelli describes footwear having removable straps that attach by quick-release connection means. While mentioning a female connecting member, configured to receive a male connecting member, recessed in the sole of the footwear such that only a slot is visible, this patent does not suggest or teach a way to detach the secured male and female connecting members that are recessed within the outsole, other than rotating the strap. More specifically, this patent fails to recognize the difficulties associated with releasing a completely recessed quick-release connection means, such as buckles and snap fasteners that cannot be detached by simple rotation.
There is a need in the art to provide footwear having removable straps wherein the straps can be securely attached and the means for attachment are hidden from view. Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide new and improved footwear having removable straps with connection means that are hidden from the user. Another more specific object of the invention is to provide new and improved footwear having secure, quick-release connection means that are concealed but can be easily released by the user.